Green MP Benjamin Doyle has spoken out following the controversy surrounding their private Instagram account, which has since received a wave of death threats.
“I refuse to be disappeared by hate,” said the new MP.
Flanked by takatāpui and queer leaders, Clive Aspin, Kevin Haunui and Tabby Besley, Doyle stated that when coming into Parliament, they would face prejudice and homophobia.
“I knew that I would be under scrutiny, as is appropriate for every single person that has the privilege of this position.
“I could never imagine or prepare myself to be attacked in such a baseless, personal, and violent way. That my life and that of my child would be threatened.
“That poisonous transphobic hate and imported culture wars would be levelled against me and my community - not just by extremists online, but by individuals who hold the highest level of authority in this institution,” they told media.
They are referring to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who took to social media about the situation.
“We have a choice, as members of parliament, to reject this imported culture war of hate and division. We can and must do better than this, because that is what the people of Aotearoa deserve.”
The new MP wants to have a conversation with Peters about the situation.
“We can’t resolve anything through bickering in the media, I would rather have a restoriative conversation with him directly.”
Doyle was absent from Parliament last week due to safety concerns for them and their whānau, after photos from their private Instagram account ‘Biblebeltbussy’ — which included images of the Green MP and their child — were leaked online.
“I have been fielding a significant number of threats to my life and the safety of my child and family, some of which have been so graphic and disturbing that I had been advised not to leave my house, or appear in public, due to real concerns for my security.
“These attacks I’ve faced have been baseless and cruel. Queer people are not a danger to children. This is an outdated and homophobic lie.
“In particular, images of my child from my private Instagram account have been taken without permission, removed from their original context, and shared online in misleading and manipulative ways,” they said.
Doyle stated that “context is key” when it came to the posts.
“The post at the centre of these baseless attacks includes 10 images from a range of activities and moments in my life, with a pop culture pun in the caption. ‘Bussy galore’ is an in-joke and a nickname. The translation here is ‘me at large living my best life’.”
Green Party did advise Doyle to delete the page when they were a candidate, advice they ignored.
“I can admit that I was politically naive, and we have paid a huge price for this naivety.
“None of this means I deserved the barrage of abuse and vitriol I have experienced.”
They claim the account has been inactive since taking over from former Green MP Darleen Tana.
Last week, both co-leaders of the Green Party stood in support of Doyle after they received a bunch of death threats within the span of a few days when the news broke.
“We are deeply concerned that the deputy Prime minister has doubled down on disinformation and is actively fanning flames of hatred towards the beautiful rainbow community,” said Marama Davidson last week.
“These threats are driven by dangerous conspiracy thinking and are amplified by Destiny’s Church and the Deputy Prime Minister.
“Members of any minority community, like our rainbow community, are accustomed to using and co-opting terms that may not be well understood by external groups, oftentimes with irreverence and absurdity. The central conspiracy here is that the use of such a word on a private account by an MP, before they were an MP, is inherently suspicious.”
